Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

   Chapter 49 The Money is Divided

"These are not mine. I brought sacks, and these two sacks are mine, along with this small pile here. The others didn't bring sacks, so they piled theirs on the boat. Now everyone is running back to get their sacks."

After explaining, Ye Yaodong handed the bamboo basket and the bucket to his mother and said, "These are what I caught. Take them to Ah Cai and ask if he wants to buy the sea centipedes. There are also seven blue crabs in this bamboo basket..."

Mother Ye was amazed by his harvest. She said, "So many blue crabs! There are so many things to catch on this isolated island. And sea centipedes too? This bucket is not light!"

As she looked at the sea centipedes wriggling inside the bucket, she didn't find it disgusting at all. On the contrary, she was quite delighted, her eyes shining. These sea centipedes were a valuable find. They didn't have such creatures in the mudflats near their home.

"No one has explored this isolated island, and the rocks are teeming with all sorts of things. Look at these mussels, and these sea melon seeds are huge. The others also caught a few blue crabs. There's a lot to be found. If it weren't for the fear of having too many shellfish and not being able to finish them all, I could have dug up some more to bring back.”

"Enough is enough. It would be a waste if we couldn't finish eating them and they went bad. I'll take these to sell. Is there anything else?" Mother Ye happily held the bucket and the bamboo basket; it’s rare to have her third son be so reliable. She was even happier than earning money herself.

Ye Yaodong kicked the small pile at his feet and said, "There are still some that need to be sorted out. There are some large snails that can be sold, as well as some sea cucumbers. As for the mussels, they're not worth much, so let's leave them for the workers who are building the houses."

"Alright, I'll take these to sell first. We can sort out the shellfish later."

As the others brought sacks to collect their goods, Father Ye's fishing boat also arrived.

He heard Mother Ye keep mentioning that their third son had a very good harvest today. He caught half a bucket of sea centipedes and seven blue crabs, which sold for over ten yuan. He also picked up two sacks of shellfish. Making Father Ye’s expression brightened. The catch from their fishing nets today was not as abundant as yesterday, and they only managed to sell around 20 yuan worth of fish in total.

For the third son to go in the morning and return with such a bountiful harvest in the afternoon, it's already quite impressive.

After the whole family helped transport the shellfish back home, Mother Ye sorted out some mussels and decided to cook a pot of noodle soup as a snack for the workers. It should have been cooked earlier, but she got delayed when she went out to meet Father Ye and the others.

As soon as Ye Yaodong returned home, he poured himself a large pot of tea and then sat down in the living room to take a rest, waiting to have dinner in a while.

Father Ye, shirtless and holding his beloved water pipe, took a few puffs before asking Ye Yaodong, "Did the others have a good harvest?"

"Not as much as me."

After a long day, Ye Yaodong was actually not in the mood to talk much. He just wanted to have dinner quickly and then take a good rest.

"There won't be any tide tomorrow, but on the fifteenth, there will be tides again. See if you can rent another boat and go out.”

"Well, the old lady raised the price, making it difficult to rent. It's too expensive. We'll see about it when the time comes.”

What if they can't even earn back the costs? Wouldn't it mean they worked for nothing all day?

Father Ye nodded and said, "Let's see how it goes then. After we finish dinner, let's go to Ah Cai's place with your wife and collect the over 1,000 yuan you earned yesterday. We'll divide the money according to what is fair."

"Um."

After receiving the snacks from Mother Ye, Lin Xiuqing also found out that Ye Yaodong had returned. She took the money that Mother Ye secretly gave her from selling the goods and hurried home without even having a chance to eat the snacks first.

When she arrived home, Ye Yaodong had just finished eating his meal and set down his chopsticks. He asked, "Have you had the snacks? Mom saved some for you in the pot."

“Good."

After Father Ye and Ye Yaohua finished their meal, they went to the homestead, leaving only the couple at home to talk.

While eating, Lin Xiuqing asked, "There were many people around earlier, so Mom didn't say much. She just secretly handed me some money, whispering that it was the money you earned from selling goods just now."

"Hmm..." Ye Yaodong shared with her about today's harvest and pointed toward the back door, indicating that there was a pile of shellfish there.

"After you finish your meal, sort through them and see if there's anything else we can sell. Later, we can take them to Ah Cai's place while settling yesterday's accounts.”

With a smile on her face, Lin Xiuqing nodded in agreement. There was nothing that made her happier than her husband earning money.

Seeing the noticeable change in his wife's attitude these past few days, Ye Yaodong felt that it was worth the effort, even if it meant being a little tired.

"It seems like Mom even sold the three mantis shrimp; otherwise, I could have made some wine for you.”

"What's there to eat? Anything that can be sold for money should definitely be sold. Recently, Dad has been using fishing nets, and there are plenty of small fish and shrimp left. We have enough food at home now, and besides, you've also collected so many shellfish. We won't be able to finish them all.”

How can it be the same?

In his previous life, she suffered from colon cancer and passed away. It was definitely related to diet, and he had always felt guilty about it. Coming back again, he wanted to make sure she could eat well as much as possible.

"Well, let's discuss it after the separation."

With the whole family living together, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to eat separately. Besides, he used to be a useless person who didn't contribute much. If he started a small stove, his two sisters-in-law would have something to say about it.

Lin Xiuqing quickly finished her meal, washed the dishes, and went to the backyard to sort through the shellfish, picking out everything she thought was valuable.

Things like large snails, sea cucumbers, and wild abalone were all selected by her and placed separately in a bucket, while the smaller ones that couldn't fetch a good price were kept for their own consumption.

To be honest, when he was digging, he also chose the larger ones. So, after she made her selection, there weren't many left for them.

Luckily, she wasn't interested in the razor clams and mussels, so he could still keep two bags of those.

"Should the sea oysters be sold?"

"Let's forget about it. With such a large bag, we would need Mom and the others to help shuck them. You won't be able to finish them by yourself tonight. Let's keep them for the family to enjoy when cooking together."

"Okay then!" Lin Xiuqing responded with a slight hint of regret. Such a large bag of oysters could have yielded several jin of shucked meat.

Looking at her money-loving appearance, Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "Alright, bring yesterday's receipt. I'll go call Ah Guang and the others, and we'll go to Ah Cai's place together to settle the accounts."

“Good."

With a large sum of money in his pocket, Ye Yaodong walked out of Ah Cai's house and looked at the nearby sea. This was the treasure trove of the whole village.

He heard that his grandfather was not originally from the village. He came here begging all the way from Zhejiang Province due to famine and then settled in the village, relying on the sea for survival.

This vast sea has provided for so many people.

With a cheerful smile, he said, "Let's go, let's go to Ah Guang's place and split the earnings!"

1601.88 yuan is a significant amount of money for people nowadays. It's equivalent to the two-year salary of a worker. With four people sharing it, after deducting boat rental and diesel expenses, each person will still have 397 yuan.

"My wife did the math, and it's about 397 per person. Everyone, count your own money, check if it adds up, and see how much is left as change. Let's double-check to make sure it's correct!"

Ye Yaodong put a pile of dimes on the table and asked everyone to count them by themselves.

The money from their separate sales had already been collected by Lin Xiuqing and was not mixed in with the rest.

After everyone happily counted the money and received their share, there was 1 yuan and 88 cents left on the table. With a smile, Ye Yaodong asked, "There's still over 1 yuan left, do you want to split it or...?"

"Do we really need to split it? It's not worth dividing a few cents for each person. Let's use it to buy some wine."

"Yeah, let's use it to buy some alcohol. We've been working hard all day, so let's celebrate tonight. We caught a few nets during the day and have the shellfish, so we already have the perfect snacks to go with the drinks."

"Sure, sure."

"Let's call the others too!"

"They'll be jealous again..."